What Nobody Says
by VeraWhite
Summary: Leaving her little village in Spain had never been a part of her plans. Neither was leaving Antonio behind. She also didn't sign up for this weather, or the impending war she was trying to avoid. Treacherous forces invading the castle walls that surround them, Elena finds herself forced to choose between the boy she grew up with and the man she grows to love. (Eventual SBXOC)
1. Chapter 1

The light filtered through the leaves on the tree outside Elena's bedroom window, gently at first and then all at once, filling up her room with the warm sunlight Elena always said could only be found in Spain. The hacienda where her family's villa was located on was surrounded by fields of grapes that made up the Alvarez family vineyard. Their village was small, but her life felt large whenever she rode with Lucia on their bicycles to shopping center one town over, and they spent their summers on the coast, laughing and dancing.

Papá always told her that no matter where life took her, their little village of Iliane would always be home. Sometimes if she just looked in the mirror, deep into her dark eyes she could see the Spanish soil that surrounded her home, in her straight nose she saw her Abuela, in the waves of her hair was Mamá and, like her eyes, it was dark like her Papá's.

The magical children in her village went to a local school that was separate from the other children in the village, and because most of these children belonged to the elites and hacienda owners, no questions were ever asked. Even though they went to different schools, all the children got along and Elena loved to play and dance with the children in her village. Her family never disapproved, since her Papá was still best friends with his childhood friend, even though he was mortal. Elena grew up thinking of Juan Martinez as Tío, and his son Antonio was both her best friend (after Lucia of course) and her first kiss.

It was one of the hottest summers Elena had ever experienced, it was the summer before she turned eleven. She was sipping on a glass of grape juice that was making her lips red and swollen when Antonio came by on his bicycle to say hello and play in her pool. Her large black sunglasses looked comical on her heart shaped face and when she smiled her teeth were tinted ever so slightly. Antonio stopped and, remembering something his older brother Julian had told him just the other day, he swooped down and lightly pressed his chapped lips on hers. Elena's eyes widened and she nearly dropped her drink when he leaned back and grinned cheekily back at her. Setting her juice down gingerly, she got up and started chasing Antonio around her yard, until she finally just pushed him in her pool. It was a very silly way to lose your first kiss, by having it stolen by the boy you've known all your life, and Elena silently vowed to never let another boy kiss her ever again. Papá just smiled when she told him this.

The next summer, Elena was turned eleven in June, and she had a big birthday party with all the kids from her village and some of her friends from the next town over. Papá contracted a Cuban musician who he met in Madrid on one of his business trips, and they bonded over their mutual love of salsa music, a new music style that was quickly gaining popularity even in Spain. She didn't ask for any gifts because she knew that a lot of her friends' weren't as fortunate as her to have been born into a family that had been looked upon favorably by God when it came to business, so she just told them that coming would be the best gift they could give her. She was surprised when they all presented her with various knick knacks and hand-made drawings as presents either way, and because she loved them all so much, she made sure they all got extra-large pieces of cake. After the party, Papá pulled her aside and gave her a gold rosary, with little pearls going up and down the intricately made chain, with a gleaming crucifix at the end that she could easily tuck into her shirt.

"Mija," Papá began in Spanish, "I give you this so you may always have protection and a little bit of home, even when you are very far away. Do you remember all your prayers?" Elena nodded obediently. "Good, good mija, you must always remember them and more importantly, you must always remember where you come from."

"Papá?" Elena looked up at her Papá in confusion, she could see in his eyes her own reflection and the worry lines beginning to form on the smooth planes of his face. "What's going on? Why do you always say these things, you know I would never leave Spain."

Papá took out an envelope with a red wax seal and handed it to her, silently telling her to read it. Elena looked at the address written on the front of the envelope and her eyes widened in recognition.

TO Ms Elena Valeria James Alvarez

Third Bedroom, Down the Hall and to the Right

Second Floor, Alvarez Villa

Iliane, Spain

"Papá? How do they know where I sleep? Who is Hogwarts?" Elena looked at her Papá in confusion, her eyes squinting comically in a way that caused her dark eyelashes to fold onto each other. Papá placed his large, worn hands on her skinny shoulders, brushing against the frilled straps of her sundress, and looked at her levelly.

"Elena, not everything is as simple as it seems," Elena suddenly thought to herself that Papá seemed much more tired than usual as he said this, and worry began to form between her eyebrows. "Mija, our family has long been blessed by God with special abilities most of your friends do not have. There are those of us who have been blessed with the power to do good, but just as splendid Lucifer once fell, many have also fallen. There are those who abuse of those without power and there are those who have tried to defy death, mi amor."

Elena took this in with a somber expression, her mind reeling with this new knowledge. "Papá, is this not brujería? The dark magic that Abuela always talks about?"

Papá sighed, rubbing her tanned shoulders and spreading a comforting warmth throughout her body. "There are both good and bad powers in the world, our family has long been blessed by this good magic, and so have you. Normally we learn to control and wield this power at home, with private teachers and the such, but your Mamá has friends who went to this school, this Hogwarts. There is a man there who can protect you from evil, the most powerful wizard in Europe. His name is Dumbledore." Elena widened her eyes in awe as Papá continued, "There is another man, not as powerful, but very evil. He is rising. Mija, you need to stay safe, and this Hogwarts will prepare you to become a wonderful witch."

Elena's dark eyebrows folded into a crease that made up the rest of her "concentration face" as had been dubbed by those close to her, made up of squinted eyes, a crinkled nose, and furrowed brows. The dimple in her right cheek became deeply pronounced whenever she made this face and Antonio had the annoying habit of poking it mockingly, Abuela scolding her for giving herself wrinkles.

"Is Antonio coming too? And Lucia? And Magdalena? And -" Papá interrupted her before Elena could finish listing the names of the entire village children.

"No, mija, just you."

Tears began to well up in Elena's chocolate eyes, making them appear glassy and almost blue, "Papá, what will I do without my friends? What if the other children at Hogwarts (she pronounced it like "Hoog-warts") don't like me? Or they don't have grapes?" Her face took on an especially stricken expression at the next sentence that fell from her lips. "What if Antonio forgets all about me?"

Papá eyes are soft and kind, the kind of brown that they remind Elena of the way Antonio always has dirt on his hands from helping Tío in the fields, doing nothing to help calm her nerves. "Eli, Antonio will never forget you," he says, using the familiar nickname only a selected few ever do. "Besides, you can always write letters to him like your Mamá did when she went away to school, and you can always return to Spain for the Holidays. Now smile for me my darling, you know I hate to see you without a smile."

Elena smiled widely for her Papá, giggling nervously when he stuck a large finger under her chin and tickled her neck, still not entirely sold the idea of magic school so far away and a land so cold just to be under the authority of some Doomblé-door. She sighed when Papá finally left, after having explained a bit more to her about the magic school and where she could get her supplies without having to go to the wizards shopping area in London. Elena didn't know how she would adjust to living so far from her village in a castle chock-full of Brits, safe while everyone she loved so dear was left in danger of the dark magic coming their way. Looking out the open window, the tile cool under her bare feet and the warm air of southern Spain on her face, Elena could her the sound of the other children playing in the garden, Antonio pulling Lucia's hair no doubt. She grasped the golden crucifix than now lay in the center of her flat chest, and sent a quick prayer to _María_ for protection before she plastered on a smile and went to join the other children. She somehow believed she would need it.

Weeks later, Elena was being poked by what felt like thousands of little needles by the wrinkled hands of her Abuela, a sharp witted old woman with leathery skin and gray hair that shone stark again her dark features. When she was little, Elena believe her Abuela to be a million years old because of how wise she was and the sheer amount of _stuff_ she knew. Elena absolutely adored her. Right now, with her bony fingers digging into her sides and pushing her this way and that, Elena was not so endeared.

"Elena Valeria," Abuela was the only person who called Elena by her full given name, "You are going to have the loveliest robes at that school, that is for sure! Those Brits, as smart as they may be, have no appreciation for the art of working with your hands. Elena Valeria it is in the hands where all good things come, and a woman's hands can only create things with love. A shirt is not a shirt, it is a blouse, a skirt is not a skirt, it is the petals that twirl as you spin, mi hermosa flor." Abuela's hands spun Elena around, harrumphing now and again at the fashion of Scottish, or the British, or the northern European, Elena could not keep track. She breathed a deep breath of air once Abuela released her from her vice grip, taking notes with one hand and feeling for the perfect fabric with the other.

They were in Abuela's little home, a clay building with a flat red roof and white walls, draped in shawls and Persian rugs and smelling of lavender incense from her many travels. Elena had many memories stored in this place, a lovingly disorganized place that was meticulously cleaned each Saturday without fail. Abuela was full of contradictions and mysteries Elena loved to uncover one by one. From her, Elena inherited an odd love of bugs and other "creepy crawly" things, as Lucia would say, but also from her Abuela, came her strong aversion to pants and shoes. Elena lived almost exclusively in some dress or another, all made by hand with only the loveliest of fabrics and most eye-catching of colors. The black robes and black shoes and dreary weather that awaited Elena was not something either her or her Abuela were looking forward to.

Nevertheless, Abuela was determined to "spice things up" per say, sneakily adding stitching to Elena's robe that would reflect in a certain light shifting carnations and whimsical spirals. Elena's blouse was more fitted than the regular cotton button down, and her sweaters were a soft material that felt inviting rather than itchy. Her socks had ribbing and little frills at the end, her shoes had a slight heel and were more pointed than rounded in the toe. Abuela also gifted her with thick trench coat that was a deep merlot, and it was the only article she had charmed with a self-adjusting spell, so it would never have to be refitted or replaced.

Elena truly had too much clothing to take with her, but as long as it appeased her Abuela, she paid it no mind. Mamá had given her a brand new Polaroid camera with plenty of film for her to take to Hoog-warts, and made her promise to make the most of her time at the witching school. Lucia cried when she said goodbye, her golden curls frizzing around her tear-stricken face. Tío told her to write often and to make them proud. Antonio... Antonio was a different story altogether.

He kept on as if nothing was happening and kept dragging her around the village, buying her ice-cream and dancing salsa with her in the square. He could never bring himself to look her full in the face though, and his sweaty hand grabbed hers whenever he had the chance, almost as if he believed she'd disappear from one moment to the next. Finally Elena had had enough. She was leaving tomorrow and Antonio was still playing this silly game. She grabbed him tightly by the arm, her nails digging in to his skin, and ran to the far side of the village that was close to the marina in the neighboring town. She didn't stop until her dirty feet felt scalding sand and then she finally stopped, not yet turning to Antonio although she had already dropped his arm.

Taking a deep breath, Elena turned around and found herself face to face with Antonio's bright green eyes. No one in their village had eyes like his. Rumor had it that Antonio's mother was a French gypsy who had left Tío and Antonio as quickly as she had come into their lives. Still, Elena was never a match for those eyes. She clumsily took his hand in hers, and said, "You know I'll come back right?" Antonio's eyes softened but did not stop what they were doing to her heart. "I'll never leave you." The two friends sat on the white sand, quietly watching the ocean waves lap onto each other, moving apart and coming together violently and then softly.

The sun set long before Antonio spoke again. He had not let go of her hand.

"I'll be waiting."

* * *

 **Whew! That was a long one! Hope you guys enjoy the start of Elena's journey and are as excited as I am for this story, it's an idea that is close to my heart. I feel like my writing style has evolved a lot since I was 12, and now that I'm a junior in high school I think I can offer a more mature and well-though out story line.**

 **Up next: Hogwarts!**

 **As always, please review! I am planning on responding to all my reviewers in the next chapter, so any questions, ideas or helpful criticisms are welcome!**

 **Vera**


	2. Chapter 2

The European Bee-Eater is a small bird, averaging about 28cm in length, with richly-colored feathers and a slender body. It has a rich chestnut crown that looks red in certain lighting that blends into gold on its back. The forehead is white, the throat is yellow bordered by black, and the underparts are blue and emerald green. It's wings resemble that of a hummingbird in their triangular shape, but are much longer and more slender. They inhabit mostly southern Europe and are a strongly migratory bird, with a diet of bees and dragon flies.

They also happen to be Elena's favorite bird.

Perhaps this is why, instead of a powerful barn owl, or a majestic snowy owl, Papá relents and buys her one of these instead. Pio, named after one of Abuela's favorite nursery rhymes, flutters in annoyance after the third bump Elena has pushed her trolley over, shaking his small cage that has been tied to the top of her other belongings. Kings Cross Station is huge. Enormous. Gigantic. Collossa-

Elena has to stop thinking of adjectives for the mammoth station so she doesn't run into family of redheads, heading towards Platform 10, and she smiles when she sees a pair of twins hounding what appeared to be their older sister.

"Fabian! Don't start!" She scolds one of them, slapping him on the back of the head as they hurry to catch up with their parents, "Arthur and I are simply friends," she says, her voice sounding high-pitched on the end of the last word.

Elena finds it a little difficult to understand what the twin on her other side fires back, partially because she is still getting used to everyone speaking English _all the time_ , and partially because she is not sure what it means when her ticket says to board the Hogwarts Express on Platform 9 and 3 quarters. She is not confident enough to ask one of the guards, so she decides to continue following this odd bunch of red-haired folks, silently wondering if all of the Scottish wear green kilts and have red hair.

So caught up in her musings, she doesn't notice when the redheads begin to disappear through the wall between Platforms 9 and 10, much less so that she doesn't notice when she follows them right through the wall as well.

Starting in shock at having just realized she had passed through a wall, Elena looks at the sheer amount of people on this Platform. Families upon families are saying goodbye to their children, friends are greeting each other excitedly, and even a couple of the older students are kissing in hidden corners, all beside a gleaming red train. Her mind reeling as she figures that there must be more people on this Platform than in Iliane itself, Elena discovers she is still blocking the entrance by the wall when the sharp angle of someone else's trolley digs into the small of her back and nearly rips her burgundy dress. Letting out a short, but loud nonetheless, yelp! Elena stumbles out of the way and pulls her own trolley towards where other families are loading their own luggage.

Being of a small and slender stature, even for an 11 year old girl with too much clothing and chocolates hidden away in the secret corners of her school trunk (Abuela always nagged her about her sweet tooth, saying it would soon go straight to her hips) Elena knew she wasn't about to put herself through the embarrassment of trying to load her own trunk onto the train. Looking around, she tried to find the first bored looking older student she could, making a quick note to heavily invest in some sort of charm to make her luggage weightless, she was only sure it would increase over the span of the next seven years. She had the horrible tendency to overpack, Antonio always made fun of her for that whenever the two of them went on weekend trips to Madrid and the coast with Tío and Papá. He would only laugh and laugh, until she got some local boy to help her out, and then suddenly it wasn't as funny.

In this moment, when the ticking hand of the station's clock neared closer and closer to boarding time, it was more stressful than anything. Finally spotting a sandy haired boy with a couple of scars on his arms and his face next to a tired looking man and a beautiful woman Elena could only assume was his mother, Elena fluffs her hair a couple times and approaches the trio shyly. She is embarrassingly aware of her accent, and the way she rolls her 'r's and the thick way that words come out in English, so she speaks maybe a little too quiet at first when she catches their attention.

"Hello. My name is Elena James and I was wondering if you could do me the kindness of helping me with my luggage? I will be forever grateful," she smiles here politely, the dimple in her right cheek accentuating the roundness of her cheeks in contrast to the soft point of her chin. Mr. and Mrs. Lupin smile gently down at the girl with the heavy accent and disproportionately large luggage. Mrs. Lupin gestures for her son to help her load her trunks onto the train, and the sandy haired boy springs into action from where he had been silently rooted. Elena grabs her cloth bag with her change of clothes and Pio's cage that has been covered in a light blue cloth to shield him from the English weather. In the pocket of her trench coat she has a few of his favorite treats, which no one knows she caught herself, as pretty girls aren't supposed to go around touching and playing with "creepy crawly creatures." Nonetheless, Elena finds that she loves the feeling of getting dirty and feeling the squirming grasshoppers with her pinky, something warm bubbles in her chest. What would Mamá think of her now!

She follows the boy, Remus, she learns his name when his mother kisses his cheek loudly and tells him to write weekly (he turns scarlet), onto the train and they begin to look for an empty compartment. They dodge various sparks and stray spells, pets who have been accidentally set loose, and a particularly enthusiastic couple in green trimmed robes. Finally, they claim a compartment near the back of the train and Elena is absolutely positive that English wizards are insane.

"Are train stations always like this," she asks Remus, who has yet to introduce himself properly, mind you, pulling off her merlot trench coat and handing it to him so he could hang it in a mostly unused coat rack right next to their compartment. Remus quirks an eyebrow when he sees she is still wearing a thick black cardigan underneath her trench coat that hangs loosely over her thin frame and dress.

"So cold?" He quips.

Elena furrows her brow, not completely understanding his sarcasm, since it _bloody well_ _is cold_.

"No, well, I mean - yes, but that is not what I am saying." Pausing in her words to try and remember the correct words, Elena crosses her legs daintily and continues, "I mean, is it always this hectic?"

Remus smiles at this, and nods in affirmation. "I can't speak much for Hogwarts since this is my first year as well, but Platforms do have a certain way of being... overwhelming."

Elena sits up at this and her eyes shine brightly, "Yes! Overwhelming," she repeats, trying to pronounce all the vowel sounds and consonants as Remus had done, pleased at having learned a new word.

Remus starts, as if having suddenly realized his manners, and introduces himself with a kind smile. "I'm Remus by the way, Remus John Lupin."

Elena smiles back at Remus and pulls her hand out of her pocket. It is full of chocolate covered coffee beans, chocolate oranges, and other varieties of dark and milk chocolate. Remus widens his eyes at the gleaming confectionary with a look in his eyes Elena has never seen before. _Desire_. She can't help but flush for some reason when, still glazed with that same look, Remus puts his hazel eyes on hers. "Quieres? Do you want?" She asks, already knowing what his immediate answer will be.

They spend the next hour and a half sharing chocolates and speculating about what the magic school will bring. Remus is interested in Iliane and Elena wants to learn more about the suburb he grew up in just outside of sprawling London. She tells him about her Papá's vineyard and the hacienda, as well as stories of her Abuela's travels from long ago. He is fascinated to learn that she not only speaks Spanish and English, she also knows a bit of Italian and French that Mamá has taught her. Elena is jealous that Remus knows so much about so many things, even telling her about the four different Houses they would be Sorted into. She is not one to hold grudges though, and she continues to share her chocolates with him.

She is about to show him Pio, lifting the blue cloth from around his chirping cage, when two boys with impossibly messy hair stumble into their compartment. One, a boy with light brown eyes and round wire glasses crouches down onto the floor of their compartment, and the other, a boy with regally high cheekbones and curls as dark as night is shutting the door behind them. He glances out the window and pulls down the curtain when he catches the view of something unpleasant. The intruders don't seem to realize they are not alone until Elena curves an elegant eyebrow and asks thickly, "What do you think you are doing?"

Glasses turns around and shushes her rudely, pulling a shimmery fabric from his robe's pocket, and motions to the other boy to get close just when the door slams open. Elena and Remus look up into the face of one of the older students they had seen while getting on the train, a boy with long platinum blonde hair that had been entangled with a pretty girl with the same green on her robes. Displayed on his chest was a proud looking badge with a gleaming "P" on it. His crystalline eyes scan the room as if searching for something out of place and his upper lip lifts into a sneer when he sees the many chocolate wrappers surrounding Elena and Remus.

"I trust you two have not seen a pair of troublemaking buffoons around here, have you?"

Elena shakes her head, eyes wide and determined not to cause any trouble so soon, something in the back of her head wondering when the boys had disappeared from their compartment. Or had it just been a dream?

The haughty blonde sniffs in disdain, still looking down at the two first years from his nose, "Very well then. Change into your robes, we'll be arriving soon." With that said, he slams the door closed and goes back towards the front of the train.

All is silent for less than a minute. Then Elena is screaming something in Spanish because there are two _floating heads_ in their compartment. More than that, they are the floating heads of the troublemakers the blond boy was looking for. Three pairs of frantic hands go to cover her mouth before the prefect can come back and give them all detention before they have even stepped inside of Hogwarts. Pio is frantically buzzing around his cage, concerned for his señorita and ready to nip at anyone who tries to harm her.

Once Elena has settled down, the boy with the magic cloak introduces himself as James Potter and explains that they are not demons, the cloak can make them invisible when they put it on. He also tells her that the blond boy ("Malfoy," he smirks) was chasing them because they had thrown a dungbomb at him while he was chatting up Narcissa Black.

"My dear cousin," says the boy with the midnight curls, turning his stormy grey eyes onto Elena. She has never seen such eyes. "The name is Black, Sirius Black," He offers with a smirk and cocky tilt of his head.

"Elena James."

"Remus Lupin."

James pulls out a pack of violet and yellow cards, "Anyone want to play a round of Exploding Snap?"

The boys agree to teach a confused Elena how to play and laugh good-naturedly when she almost singes Remus's robes and lets out an embarrassing yelp. James tells her the rules of the game and Sirius makes sure to whisper conspiratorially the secret to winning without getting your eyebrows burned off. Elena likes this oddly violent game much more than the poker games Papá and Tío sometimes let her in on, the room full of tobacco smoke and Papá with his tie draped across his shoulders. He always asks her not to tell Mamá that they have been playing.

Elena likes this group of rowdy boys and they don't seem to mind that she sometimes stumbles on her words or her rolling 'r's. She hopes they like her too, and it seems so by the way they ask her questions and smile goofily whenever she says their name in her strong accent.

The train is almost at the station now, and the boys respectfully step out while Elena changes into her uniform. She does not know how to feel about Sirius's twinkling grey eyes when he asks her for a chocolate orange. She gives him two and gives James the last of her chocolate seashells that she has taken out. The four walk as a group off the train and grab a boat with a nervous looking boy named Peter. Elena has never seen anyone as tall as Hagrid. When Hogwarts is finally in view she gasps because she has never seen anything as beautiful in her life. The boys are already becoming fast friends.

Elena is nervous when she has to step off the boat, but Sirius offers her his hand and so she gets off without a problem. He does not let go until they have reached the great double doors leading to what the lady in the pointy hat called the Great Hall. Elena is surprised to see the ghosts, she has never seen one before. Everything here is so straightforwardly _magical_. They wait in large group of other children their same age, some talking rapidly with their friends and others looking as queasy as she feels. She can hear someone saying something beyond the Great Doors and then they open up, what seem like millions of other students in black robes are seated at the four long tables taking up most of the room. The ceiling is the most incredible she has ever seen, reflecting the billions of stars and even the distant galaxies in the night sky. Floating candles light their way and they file down the center of two tables towards a stool with an ugly looking hat and the stern witch from before.

She has a list from where she calls the names of the other children. Elena doesn't have to wait long until her name is called.

"Elena James!" They have shortened it, just as they do with everything in this country. UK, ECB, EU, MoM. Elena James.

She smoothes out her skirt and throws back her shoulders, her brown waves tickling her sides. She is painfully aware of the eyes on her and of the sound of her clacking heels. Sitting on the creaky stool, she tries not to gasp when the hat is shoved on her head and her mind is filled with a foreign voice. She doesn't quite pay attention to what the Hat mutters before the rip in its seam opens like a mouth and it shouts, "Gryffindor!"

It does not take long for the other children to be Sorted into each of the four Houses. She notices that the House in green has the awful habit of sneering, while her own seemed to be full of rowdy people. The blue and yellow Houses each seemed to be the more calm of the four, but her thoughts go blank when she sees the feast in front of her eyes. Elena does not fill her plate as much as her Housemates do, not entirely used to a big dinner or dinner at all really. She talks to a girl with hair like fire and emeralds for eyes that remind her a bit too much of Antonio. She does not finish her dinner.

When they have finished the trek up to the Gryffindor Tower and the prefects have made sure they all knew the password to the Common Room, Elena slips away from her chattering Housemates, determined to get some rest. Slipping into her nightgown and grabbing her stuffed bunny from her trunk, Elena settles into bed, not completely conscious but very aware of the adventure Hogwarts was sure to bring.

* * *

 **There you have it! A pretty fast update I would say :) Look forward to the next chapter and see how Elena settles in to her new classes!**

 **Guest: Thanks so much for reviewing! I'm glad you liked it and are enjoying all of the characters so far! I'm trying to make this story as original as possible.**

 **Until next time everyone! Make sure to follow, favorite, and of course, review! Send me questions, ideas, or just tell me what you loved, I always look forward to it.**

 **Vera**


	3. Chapter 3

Over a month had passed since Elena started Hogwarts and she was ready to pull her hair out in frustration.

She enjoyed almost all of her classes, her favorites being Herbology, Care of Magical Creatures and Charms. She had a natural affinity of caring for living things and was perhaps the only girl in her year willing to get her hands dirty. She greatly enjoyed Charms mostly because of Professor Flitwick who never minded going a little slower in his explanations when she looked particularly confused, and was always quick to praise his students for completing their tasks. In fact, Elena wouldn't have known you could even lose points had she only had Professor Flitwick as a teacher.

Unfortunately for her, this was not the case, and she had five other classes that quickly disproved that idea. Potions was fine if you thought of it as cooking, and that's precisely what Elena did. Only problem was, Elena was a terrible cook. Professor Slughorn, a kind and jolly Englishman, was understandably exasperated with Elena at the end of each class, but could only manage a mild sort of encouragement along the lines of, "Do try a little harder not to blow up your cauldron Ms. James, I'm sure you'll get it next time," when faced with her sparkly brown eyes on the verge of tears. Sirius Black and his lot, including cocky James Potter, the nervous Peter Pettigrew, and sweet Remus Lupin from the train station, spent most of Potions guffawing whenever Elena messed up (which was very often) and her Potions partner, a Hufflepuff named Anthony Goldman, watched in horror as she added too much of an ingredient and tried to remedy it by flinging a bit of whatever she could find to "even it out." Needless to say, Potions was not her strong suit, although she truly did try her best.

As for History of Magic, Elena, who still struggled with English at times, did her best to pay attention to the monotone ghost who lectured from the beginning to the end of class, but found herself falling asleep in awkward 20 minute intervals usually interrupted whenever Lily Evans decided to pinch her arm tightly or Sirius Black threw crumpled up pieces of parchment at the back of her head. History of Magic would have been her least favorite class, if not for Transfiguration with Professor McGonagall. The stern professor terrified Elena to her core and she spent most of each class anxiously praying that she would not be called on to demonstrate the spell they had just learned. Most classes, luck seemed to be on her side in the form of overachieving Lily Evans or James Potter, who tried very hard to impress Lily but only annoyed her when he got things right. When it was not, Elena turned red in shame as Professor McGonagall explained to the class _literally everything_ wrong with her spell work. A particularly embarrassing moment was when they were learning to turn matches into needles and Elena had somehow manage to light her match on fire and her desk remained slightly singed for the next seven years. Professor McGonagall pointed out that her pronunciation was all wrong, and her hand was shaking too much to have any real intent, and that intent is everything when it came to spell work, spells without intent are sloppy, and sloppiness is never acceptable. Elena hated Transfiguration.

Flying and Defense Against the Dark Arts were decent enough, even though a Slytherin boy named Avery liked to make her think he could see up her skirt when she flew a little too high, and Sirius Black took advantage of the fact that he sat behind her in DADA to tug on her hair.

By the time dinner came around in the Great Hall, Elena was pooped. The other first year Gryffindor girls usually formed a tight knit group that giggled and gossiped, but never seemed willing to include her. Instead, Elena sat with the second and third years that liked to ask her about Spain and gave her advice for her classes, sharing embarrassing stories that made Elena feel better about her own failures. Fabian and Gideon Prewett, the redheaded twins she had seen on the Platform, were among the rowdier of the group of third years, and made it their mission in life to make her laugh while she drank her water. Elena hated pumpkin juice, although she did like pumpkin pie, and spent the better part of Friday evenings looking up spells to transfigure pumpkin juice to grape juice. She refused to ask for help from Professor McGonagall, despite her being their Head of House, much to the amusement of her new friends. Valerie Smith, Mary McDonald, and Estella Greengrass were the nicest group of second years Elena had ever met, especially since they never made fun of her accent or awkward way of talking sometimes.

"Elena, darling," Estella called everyone darling, partially because her family was pureblood and liked that sort of thing, but mostly because she was determined to be the next Grace Kelly, "You should just ask one of the fifth years to transfigure that juice for you. Flutter those eyelashes and give them a demure smile and you'll have your grape juice in no time."

"Estella!" Valerie shook her head in disapproval. "Elena just ask Professor McGonagall for some help, I'm sure she won't mind. No need to listen to our resident trollop for advice," she said, nudging an indignant Estella playfully.

Mary rolled her eyes at the two bickering friends, and turned to Elena as Estella called Valerie a word that made a nearby fourth year blush. "Don't mind them, they're both ridiculous. I'll help you look up some spells in the library later if you'd like."

Elena nodded shyly, looking over Mary's shoulder at Lily Evans's group as they giggled over something Marlene McKinnon said, quickly averting her eyes before anyone noticed the direction she had been looking in. Elena couldn't quite understand why they were so averse to spending time with her, especially as she'd always been quite popular in Iliane. Almost on cue, came in the hundreds of owls with the mail, and she grinned at the sight of Pio with the rest of them. He looked minuscule in comparison, and without the special silver talons Papá had bought him, it would have been impossible for him to carry the letters he held in his grasp. Swooping down close enough so that he could drop the letters in Elena's outstretched hands, Pio did his customary showing off and by the time he flitted away, Elena's olive skin was flushed red.

Down the table, stormy grey eyes watched as Elena said something quiet to the second year girls and they all burst into hearty laughter, Valerie Smith ruffling Elena's long locks. Staring at the dimple in her right cheek, Sirius couldn't tear his eyes away from Elena James from the moment he first saw her smile with abandon. Her chocolate eyes looked down at the stack of letters in her hands and he watched as she rifled through the customary pile until she reached what she looked for. It was the same handwriting as the previous week, and the week before, and the week before when he had begun to watch Elena out of the corner of his eye. She grinned mischievously, something he had thought impossible for the sweet and impossibly shy girl, and ripped it open.

Elena snickered at the silly things Antonio loved to tell her about; hiding from his father in her Papá's vineyard, catching trout with his bare hands on the beach, annoying Lucia by hiding worms in her shoes, and naming clouds. These were all things they did together, but now, he wrote, it was up to him to keep it up. Maybe this was why the girls in her dormitory didn't like to talk to her much, Elena's insecurities with English stopped her from doing all the fun things she like to do, and people are more willing to talk to people who are fun. Not girls who mess up their potions in Slughorn's class and can't even transfigure a match.

A bit disheartened, Elena cleared her throat, and spoke loud enough that Estella and Valerie stopped bickering. "Why do you girls talk to me? I do not speak English very well and the girls in my dormitory (this was a hard word) do not talk to me either. I cannot even make a potion or make a match into a needle…" Elena turned her sad eyes onto the older girls, hoping for something that might make all her insecurities fly away. The three girls exchanged meaningful glances, and finally Mary spoke.

"Elena, we love you just the way you are!" Elena glanced up in shock.

Estella checked her nails casually, "Yeah, darling, we wouldn't just hang out with anyone," she added with a wink.

Valerie slung her arm around Elena's shoulders, "Look, I think you speak English pretty great for someone who's lived in Spain all their life, and everyone has classes they're not good at. Hell, I'm pretty sure my older sister burned off ol' Sluggy's mustache a couple years back, and now she works for the Ministry!" Nodding to the other girls, Valerie said, "And if it bothers you so much, then I can help you with practicing English and all grammar and things, Mary is a whiz at History of Magic, and Estella can do your nails when you're feeling a bit down."

"Hey!" Estella flings a biscuit at Valerie's head, "I can also help you with Transfiguration, darling, I have the highest average in our year, even though this ogre likes to forget it."

"As for Potions," Mary says before Estella and Valerie's bickering can escalate into a food fight so early in the year, "you could probably ask one of the Prewett boys to help you out. They're both brilliant at practically everything, but everyone knows that Fabian is the best in our year at potions."

Elena smiles at her friends, and agrees before they can change their mind, picking a pea out of Estella's blonde hair that Valerie launched in retaliation, and flicking it at Mary cheekily. The group of friends collapses into hysterics when Mary shrieks and grabs a spoonful of mashed potatoes and it accidentally hits Frank Longbottom, a third year Mary ogles when she thinks no one is watching.

Elena sends a quiet prayer of thanks that she met these wonderful, crazy girls, even if it means she has to sleep in an unwelcoming dorm. She looks back down at the letters in her hands, some messy, some neat, others incredibly long, and few shorter than a page. She thinks of Iliane and of hot, sweaty summers with Antonio and the kids in her village, of Papá and his large, rough hands. For the first time in a long time, Elena feels as she did in Iliane. Maybe this Hogwarts won't be so bad. Maybe a girl from small village in Spain can do well in frosty England.

Valerie begins to clamor, "Oi! Check it out girls, it's stopped raining! Maybe we can take this party to the big tree by the Great Lake?"

The stormy cumulonimbus clouds that had encroached on the ceiling of the Great Hall have parted, and the suns rays peaking out are long and bright. Mary agrees that a picnic is a great idea, suggesting they make sandwiches to take with them to eat. Estella and Valerie begin to argue about what meat would go better on the sandwiches, turkey or roast beef? Nearby Fabian Prewitt pipes in with a suggestion of cucumber sandwiches, a mischievous gleam in his eyes as this sparks a whole new argument, giving Elena a suspiciously large grin that makes her blush.

Mary rolls her eyes in fond amusement, and turns to Elena who is gathering four apples to accompany their sandwiches ("I told you, you prat, we're not eating cucumber sandwiches in the middle of October!" "You are absolutely right, Valerie darling, turkey is obviously the best option." "We're eating roast beef, you twit, don't even think about giving me that crap about 'leaner meats'!").

"Elena, if you'd like I can bring my History of Magic notes from first and second year, I like to think they're easier to understand than Professor Binns."

Elena nods enthusiastically, "Yes! Thank you very much Mary, I am very appreciative of your help."

"Of course Elena, you can alway count on us, okay?"

Elena can feel the warmth of the sun on her face and back, although, she realizes, its probably these girls and this crazy new home she has in England. She tilts her head up and watches at through the clouds, as a beautiful blue sky and bright sun begin to peek out. She smiles to herself not caring if she looks crazy, before she joins in on the turkey/roast beef/cucumber argument, suggesting chicken as an intermediary. Valerie and Estella are thrilled. The odd group gathers their supplies and head out to their makeshift picnic, laughing loudly and telling silly jokes.

As they pass by the cluster of Gryffindor first years sitting far end of the table, Elena feels herself standing a little taller and smiling brighter than she ever did before. She can feels the stares of Lily Evans and the others on her back but for once she doesn't care what they think. Sirius Black pauses in the middle of one of his tall tales when he sees her walk by, and Remus Lupin asks him what's wrong. He shakes his head and continues his story about fighting a Slytherin 5th year in the Forbidden Forest, but it's not very good. He can't get that smile out of his mind. It was blinding. Later that night, Sirius realizes something that makes him curse girls and the stupid poetry his Aunt Andromeda loves to make him read.

She smiles like the sun.

* * *

 **Hope you all enjoyed the latest chapter of What Nobody Says! I had a lot of fun writing it :)**

 **Here we get the introduction of Elena's crazy second year/third year friends. To clarify for any of you who may be confused:**

 **Elena is in first year**

 **Mary, Valerie, and Estella are second years**

 **Frank Longbottom, and the Prewett twins are all third years**

 **This is by no means a Lily-bashing fic, this is merely Elena's personal experience and struggles with being young and an outsider in the many senses of the word. Usually this younger kids and adolescents (and some adults) can tend to isolate kids of their age that are different, however that may be. While its not the normal form of bullying that is portrayed by media and other fics, it is probably the most common form of bullying that most people have to face. Elena has to deal with that and it will hopefully serve as a mechanism for an arc that shows how she has to find her own confidence from within herself, especially without Iliane and her family and friends to fall back on.** **I wanted to make this story as real as possible and keep make Elena as multi-dimensional and imperfect as possible. I also wanted to explore what she might go through later on as a sixth and seventh year when suddenly she finds that all her friends are graduating and she has to be on her own for once.**

 **Also, I do not plan on spending a lot of time in her first year. Expect at maximum a chapter or two more for first year, and the same for her second, third, and fourth years. Fifth year and onwards you can expect to be longer and more in-depth. In addition, I plan on having "flashback" scenes scattered in some of the later chapters to make up for the significant gaps there will be in the earlier years.**

 **As always, please make sure to review! It makes my day and motivates me to work on my story and post quicker ;)**

 **Vera**


	4. Chapter 4

Elena's first Easter at Hogwarts had been uneventful, to say the least. "Spring Break" as they called it passed by so quickly Elena felt she got whiplash. Everywhere she looked there were students studying for some exam or another, and she had plenty of her own assignments to feel a bit overwhelmed.

There was not much that could be done in form of celebration, aside from the typical observation of Lent the weeks before. Holy Week saw none of its usual fanfare or colorful procession, so she was very jealous when she received Lucia's letter describing how this year, Iliane had truly outdone itself. Even Antonio, who had never been the most devout Catholic, was impressed. Feeling very lonely, Elena put this letter at the bottom of her trunk and ate even less that evening for dinner.

Mary and the others didn't really understand how difficult it was for her to miss Holy Week in Iliane, and she didn't know how to explain it to them either. She wasn't sure if she wanted to.

Every morning, Elena went up to the Astronomy tower to do her morning prayers and watch the sunrise, observing how the sky lit up with ancient brushstrokes and colors she had never seen. The light in Scotland was different than in Spain. It was darker and colder. Nevertheless, she found it beautiful how it reflected off the droplet of mildew on the lush emerald grounds.

When Easter finally came, Elena could only help herself to large portions of breakfast, lunch, and dinner, her Abuela's croaky voice banished from the back of her mind. She ignored the amused looks her friends cast her as she ate her fill and then some, as well as Sirius's teasing remarks.

"Hungry, are we Alvarez?"

It had been in November when the Marauders - what those silly boys named their little group after Professor McGonagall has muttered something along the lines of "marauding troublemakers"- had stolen one of her letters signed with her full given name, and they (they meaning Sirius) had taken to calling her by her mother's maiden name. Sirius claimed it was because he couldn't talk to her and have James Potter turn around each time. Estella was sure he liked her. Elena thought it was just to be annoying.

"As a matter of fact, I am Sirius," Elena's English, although improved and not nearly as awkward as before, was still heavily accented, "is there a problem?" She asked, her eyebrow curved elegantly as she lifted a forkful of potatoes to her mouth.

"Believe me," he smirked, "none at all."

Elena gave him an odd look and went back to eating her food, mentally planning on trying a bit of everything during dessert. Especially the chocolate pudding.

Down the table, Marlene McKinnon rolled her eyes and whispered something to Alice Fortescue that made her squeak out a laugh. Lily Evans smiled bemusedly at her friends as she helped Dorcas Meadows finish her last-minute Transfiguration assignment.

"McGonagall will kill me," she moaned, "I still have half an inch left and I don't understand half of this."

"Unsurprising considering you spent all day yesterday stalking Benjy Fenwick," Dorcas shrieked and threw her quill at a laughing Marlene.

Lily huffed, muttering that she had no problem throwing around _other people's quills_ instead of doing her work. After a two minute scuffle that briefly involved a sour looking sixth year, the girls settled down once more.

"Well, at least you're not doing as bad as _her_ Dorcas," Marlene said smoothly, patting down her blond curls, "at least you can actually cast a spell without some awful accent getting in the way."

Alice snorted out a laugh she barely concealed with her hand, as Dorcas looked as if this made her feel slightly better, if not a little guilty. Lily merely raised an eyebrow but said nothing to the contrary.

It wasn't often that their shy dormmate made her way into their conversations, but when she did, it was never without some tone of derision.

Elena knew all this, although they liked to pretend she didn't. The words unspoken served as a better measure of the lines drawn between the girls of Dormitory 1A. It was how things worked, after all. And no one was about to break the silent treaty to simply address what everyone already knew. Elena was not welcome. She probably never would be.

And who's to argue with what nobody says?

Meanwhile, Sirius Black liked to take every opportunity presented with creating new hurdles for Elena to jump, no doubt waiting in anticipation for her to fall. Pulling her hair, ruining her potions - which, while improving, were still terrible - and worst of all, getting her detentions _she did not deserve._ Still, she kept her head held high and focused on improving both her English and her grades. Especially since Elena had her own troubles to worry about.

Papá had not asked her to return to Iliane for Christmas this year, reassuring her they would once again meet in the summer months. She could only hope. As winter bled into spring, she prayed that whatever kept her away from Spain would soon too pass.

Antonio continued to write.

Exams were soon upon the students of Hogwarts, which Elena met with slight trepidation combined with relief. She had taken to spending afternoons by the Great Lake, studying from dawn to dusk and in between her classes. The outdoors served as a constant, soothing comfort, and also helped to keep her away from the trouble that had shacked up at Madam Pince's Great Library. Although she liked to read, Elena found she could not spend much longer than hour-long intervals in the dusty library, entirely too freaked out by Madam Pince's hawkish stare and the thought of Sirius Black prowling nearby.

Thus, the Weeping Willow by the Great Lake - much friendlier than its violent counterpart - had become her preferred place of solace in the long days leading up to the end of her first Hogwarts year. The girls often joined her on days the weather was agreeable, shaking their heads at her for staying even when it was not. Estelle was always the first to go in, claiming she would never keep ("Or find," Valerie liked to remind her) any suitors if her hair was all frizzed up. Valerie would soon follow, eventually joined by Mary, whose allergies acted up once it began to rain.

Elena would always stay, breathing in the scent of petrichor and the light sprinkle of rain that would tickle her face. Under the long and twisted branches of the Weeping Willow, the harsher of storms kept away by the pendulous leaves as she read. Most of her books in English, Elena felt that her grammar had substantially improved. Not to mention, that hanging out with the second year girls had also allowed her a stronger grasp on the colloquialisms of British magical youth.

Pio often joined her under the Willow, flitting around under the green oasis his mistress had found, and had even made himself a nest from the brambles that littered the mossy floor. It seemed Pio also preferred Elena's hiding spot to the freezing tower that housed the school owls that brought in the post. Being much smaller and different from the other birds in the Owlery, Pio had apparently been bullied by the larger birds and he spent the first few months hidden in Elena's dormitory. This, of course, did not help to endear her to her roommates, much less Marlene McKinnon who awoke more than once to find tiny droppings all over her night table and (regrettably) in her hairbrush.

The lazy afternoons Elena thus spent under the Weeping Willow embedded in her a permanent smell of the outdoors and rain, as well as more defined curl in her dark hair. Estelle liked to remark that only Elena would somehow manage to make frizzy hair look good, much to her embarrassment and a deep blush.

The letters from her friends and the other village children of Iliane had somewhat dwindled, as the excitement, she imagined, of Elena's sudden departure had too lost its glamour. The most constant pen pals she maintained, nevertheless, were, of course, Mamá and Antonio, with Papá and Lucia writing less frequently.

Mamá's letters were usually very long and filled with questions and local gossip, as well as advice to the questions Elena always sent her. Having attended Hogwarts many years ago, Mamá always entertained Elena with a story from her time at the magical school that she managed to tie in with whatever particular piece of knowledge she was attempting to impart on her only daughter. Lucia's letters weren't all that different and often held stories of some local boy who had dared to wink at her or the increasing tension between Lucia's parents. It was all Elena could do not to sprout wings and fly back to Iliane to give her friend a hug.

Papá was a different story altogether. His letters were short and scattered with his teasing humor, as well as vague allusions to the business and Antonio's growing presence in the vineyard. It seemed Tío was beginning Antonio's training and it had long been her Papá's plans to have Antonio take over the business.

Antonio's letters were her favorite of all to read, and she often couldn't contain herself once Pio came fluttering into the Great Hall with the familiar yellowed parchment Antonio used in his letters. She easily used an unbuttered knife to slice open the envelope with her name written across the front in Antonio's chicken scratch scrawl. His letters were the most interesting, and mischevious, by far, and she was many times met with surprised and confused looks as she laughed by herself during breakfast.

The antics he got up to around Iliane reminded her sometimes of Sirius Black and James Potter's group of Marauders, although she firmly believed that they had nothing in common. Nothing at all. It was disappointing to see that the kind boy she had met on the train had morphed into this manifestation of evil - _okay_ maybe she was exaggerating, but tell that to her potions grade - that she tried very hard to ignore. Especially during detention.

Elena had been surprised when, covered in a horrible smelling green slime that had unexpectedly been dumped on her head on her way to the Great Hall for lunch, Professor McGonagall's sharp voice cut across the stone hall and said, "Mr. Black, Ms. James, detention." She had been so surprised, she made the mistake of opening her mouth and a drop of the goop fell in, earning her a trip to the Hospital Wing and no pudding that day.

Needless to say, Elena was furious.

* * *

Sirius Black couldn't be more pleased. The wholly genius prank he had prepared for a couple of slimy Slytherins, including James's archnemesis _Snivellus_ , had been triggered by none other than Elena Alvarez. Okay so he was the only one who called her that, but he couldn't very well go around calling her and James by the same name- it was too _weird._ He watched her the evening before they were due to go to detention with Filch, scrubbing toilets no doubt, and snickered when she told her friends all about the magnificent prank she'd had the fortune of falling into.

Well, she didn't quite use those words, but Sirius gained a sick sort of pleasure watching her nose scrunch up and her cheeks flush as she relayed the whole tale. It seemed, true to popular knowledge, that Spaniards had a particular vocabulary that would have been more appropriate on a randy pirate ship than on the lips of an eleven-year-old girl.

Said lips dropped open in horror at the realization that their detention scheduled for 7 on the dot meant she would not only miss out on dinner but on dessert entirely. She sure loved her pudding.

As if doing so would somehow make up for the lack of pudding the next evening, Elena served herself twice as much of the chocolatey dessert as usual and began spooning it into her mouth. She made sure to enjoy each spoonful as if it would be the last in her life, and Sirius glanced at her occasionally from the corner of his eye, laughing to himself at how much of a fool she was making herself look like.

Clearly, Fabian Prewett thought so as well, he was making such a big show of pointing out the chocolate at the corner of her mouth- even going so far as to wipe it himself. Eugh, did he just like his thumb? Honestly, who did he think he was, making her blush like that? She was his toy, his to mess with, and he couldn't have a fellow prankster trying to freak her out too. Even if Prewett _did_ technically have seniority, being a third year and all, Sirius obviously had the advantage being in her year.

Besides, no way Fabian Prewett of all people, who had plenty of girls (insert ew here) lining up be his girlfriend would ever pay shy Elena James any attention.

Right?

* * *

 **There you have it, folks! Next chapter, we're going to speed through Elena's second, third, and fourth years. I'm not sure yet if I'm going to have just one chapter sum it all up, or if I should split it up into two chapters. Regardless of what I decide, you can count on allusions to Elena's earlier Hogwarts years (and her summers, wink wink) as well as a couple of flashbacks, although not everything will be explained.** **Hope you enjoyed the chapter and please please please let me know what you think!**

 **Do you like Elena? Can you relate to the feeling of being excluded? The girls? What about Sirius and Antonio? Is there anything you would like to see?**

 **Reviews are very much appreciated!**

 **Vera**


	5. Chapter 5

Elena's summer in Iliane was like a wonderful breath of fresh air after the stifling and mildly stressful year at Hogwarts. She spent most of it with Antonio and Lucia, who seemed to be at each other's throats just as always. Mamá cried for a week after she had come back, insisting on taking her shopping to Madrid to some of Spain's most famous boutique's. Elena knew that Estella would appreciate the major expansion of her wardrobe. She and Papá even took her out to a fancy restaurant on her 12th birthday, gifting her a beautiful pair of nude espadrilles with small pearls all along the side and Abuela's infamous red stitchings. After dinner, happy and significantly bloated, they went to Abuela's house so Elena could properly thank her and greet her after coming back from Hogwarts.

As Mamá and Papá had coffee in the sitting room, Elena underwent Abuela's critical, yet loving eye as her magical measuring tape whizzed all around her. Her face burned red when she noticed she had not only gained 5 pounds, but her hips and thighs had grown by a few inches. Abuela merely raised her finely manicured eyebrow at her, and then pulled her into a smokey hug, asking her about her year and how she was enjoying her classes. Overall, Elena had a good birthday, sending prayers of thanks that Abuela had not said more than to "Keep away from evening pudding," as she saw them out. She was still mortified and embarrassed as she thought back to all those times she had helped herself to an extra serving at dinner, but it wasn't nearly as bad as the torture of having Sirius Black and Marlene McKinnon in all her classes. That night, she helped Antonio climb through her window and the two of them sat on her bed stifling giggles into the wee hours of the morning when she then helped him sneak out. Mamá didn't comment on the equally dark circles under their eyes as they then pretended to say hello for the first time since she had come back from Hogwarts.

She had missed Antonio almost as much as her Papá. Together, they wreaked almost as much havoc as the Prewett twins, and they took turns chasing each other through her family's fields. They spent most of their time at the rocky beaches on the coast, tanning and laughing as Lucia complained about the strong smell of fish. More often than not, Antonio and Elena would go off by themselves, walking barefoot by the shore, listening to the waves crashing onto the sand and feeling the cool spray of the ocean. Antonio spent much of his time collecting seashells and weaving the flowers he would find into her hair. They would sit on the grey, jagged rocks by the pier and just talk, the words flowing easily from each of them, Antonio's sandy hands in her hair.

Time passed so quickly it soon felt like she was saying goodbye to Mama, Papa, Abuela, Lucia and Antonio again. The evening before Elena would have to Floo to Kings' Cross Station again, Antonio and she went back down to the shore. They mostly sat in silence, the grass prickling at them through their shorts and they watched the setting sun be consumed by the cool blue-green ocean. Her eyes burning with salt and sand, Elena felt Antonio's hand slip into her own, letting go almost just as quickly and feeling something else in its place. Looking down she saw an anklet made entirely of the white and pink shells he had spent that summer collecting. Pressing her hand closed so hard she could feel the indentations the shells would make on her palm, Elena leaned her head on Antonio's shoulder and closed her eyes. Neither of them needs to say what was already whispered by the air.

* * *

Elena's second year at Hogwarts wasn't all that different from her first. The main difference being that, while officially still belonging to the second year girls' dormitory, she had begun sleeping in the third year girls' dormitory. When asked about the mysterious extra bed, McGonagall claimed that it was simply because the castle was accustomed to having more Gryffindor girls and that theirs' was a particularly small year. Estella claimed all that was codswallop, and that it must have been some old Hogwarts magic that wanted to create a space for Elena to be somewhere she would feel welcome.

Elena James Alvarez had also begun to hang out a lot more with the Prewett twins, and although they still teased her, they did it in a way in which she felt she could laugh _with_ them. She spent a lot of time with Fabian in particular, who had taken to spending Tuesday nights teaching her the basics of not exploding her cauldron in potions. Neither of them could claim a lot of success, especially since Elena was still pulling Trolls and Dreadfuls, and Sirius Black was yanking harder and harder on her hair. One night, however, Elena tackled Fabian in the middle of Gryffindor Tower with the news of her very first Poor. While it was no Lily Evans or Severus Snape Outstanding, he and his brother still proceeded to pull her on their broadening shoulders and chanted ridiculous sayings that had nearly everyone in tears. Everyone except a sour looking Sirius Black that merely scoffed and went back to playing Wizard's Chess with Remus. He lost.

For some unknown reason, Elena was happy to note that Sirius had stopped pulling her hair.

* * *

Sirius Black was annoyed. Watching Elena smile and laugh so freely, running about barefoot with the Prewett twins, getting twigs in her hair from spending so much time under that ugly tree by the Great Lake. Really, he could hardly understand why, knowing this, his eyes seemed to follow her whenever she entered a room. She was an icky girl, more so she was a _weird_ girl. She rarely took the time to brush out her long, wavy locks, and he often found himself fantasizing about pulling on one of her unruly curls.

Still, he knew that thoughts about Elena James were dangerous. She was Alvarez. Weird. Annoying. Too quiet and too loud all at the same time. He would sometimes catch her smiling at Remus in the halls as they all headed to class and his stomach clenched at the thought of her stealing away one of his best friends.

Worst of all, his plans to befriend the Prewett twins, pranking masters that would surely have plenty of tips and tricks for a fellow connoisseur such as himself, seemed to have been foiled. Any time he attempted to approach either Fabian or Gideon, they were either in the throes of a major prank themselves or surrounded by mates asking them about girls of all things. Even worse, Fabian Prewett had been rumored to be spending alone time with Alvarez on Tuesday evenings, but whether or not they were actually studying was a hotly debated topic. Needless to say, he was wildly disappointed with his fellow pranksters. However, one day he did manage to overhear something one of the twins was telling another Gryffindor fourth year, "Listen, mate, all you gotta do is charm her socks off! That's the only way you'll get anywhere in life, by learning how to be a hot stud like me... although that's probably impossible- Ow! Hey! I'm just joking mate, you know you've got a cute little arse-"

It was a pretty weird conversation.

While he didn't begin to apply such advice to his pranking career until he himself was in fourth year, second year did find him paying a bit more attention to birds he had never noticed before. Thus it was a mild shock when, hair ruffled and collar undone, Sirius stumbled in through the Gryffindor portrait hole and admitted to his first proper snog. James was wildly jealous and instantly looked at Lily Evans with deep longing. Remus simply rolled his eyes and went back to bemusedly reading his book, while Peter stared in awe at Sirius as he regaled his friends (and the rest of the Common Room, for that matter) of how he had bumped into a pretty Ravenclaw fifth year, made her laugh, and how she eventually pulled him into a broom closet not too far from the Great Hall.

His mates laughed as he waved dramatically and slightly exaggerated throughout his story, oblivious to the jealous stares directed at him as both males and females wished they had either been able to snog an upperclassman or that they could have snogged Sirius Black.

It was easy for him to be in the spotlight, and he preened as his tale became slightly more ridiculous with each passing moment. The warmth in the Common Room reminded him of that hearth he had read so much about in muggle storybooks, the ones he hid under his bed from Kreacher's prying eyes. The feeling of being lauded and looked up to felt almost as dizzingly pleasurable as being wanted. Beyond simple desire, the thought of people wanting to spend time with him, wanting to be his friend or even admirer felt like the validation he had always searched for. Even though it was probably just as fleeting and superficial as simple teenage desires, Sirius felt good in the spotlight where he was an arm's distance away, but no longer just the Blacks' traitor son.

He would never say any of this, but James Potter had become his saving grace. The prat.

* * *

"Fabian!"

"What is it, Twiggy?" Fabian Prewett was perched languidly on the edge of a wooden table in the middle of the Potions classroom. The room, which was located in the infamously dank and dingy dungeons, was currently occupied by its most regular Tuesday night inhabitants. An odd smell wafted from the open cauldron propped up on the burner that was dangerously close to the edge of Fabian's dark robes.

Elena rolled her eyes at the nickname in exasperation, "Give me back my wand! I need it for the next step of the potion, or else it'll explode and my grade will never get any higher than a Poor!" she said, holding her hand out expectantly. While most girls would have been swooning at the thought of being compared to such an iconic symbol of the time, Elena knew it had less to do with her looks and more to do with the twigs she often found in her hair. The real Twiggy was impossibly pale and blonde, a British style icon that had made "skinny" the hottest trend, whereas Elena was dark and proving to be more on the voluptuous side. Unfortunately, Fabian seemed to have grown partial to the nickname due to some twisted, ironic reasoning that they were so opposite that it would be a crime not to take advantage of such an opportunity.

"Oh, no, now Twiggy, you know I can't simply _give you_ your wand back- it would tarnish my reputation!" Fabian's blue eyes were sparkling with mischief as he leaned further back onto the table, his height proving to be a clear advantage over Elena's petite frame. He cackled gleefully when she tried to jump up and snatch her wand back, failing miserably as he merely raised his arm a bit higher.

"Come on, Fabian, please. Give it back already!" she pleaded, eyeing the bubbling cauldron nervously.

"Nope."

"That thing is going to blow any second." Almost as if on cue, whatever substance was in the cauldron let out a loud belch and bubbled more aggressively, daring the two wizards to do something. Fabian faltered and seemed to consider something for a second. Looking down at Elena, who was biting her plump bottom lip raw from stress (a terrible habit really), a lightbulb seemed to turn on over his head.

Leaning down with a particularly mischevious grin, his freckled face suddenly closer to her own than it had ever been before. "I'll give you back your wand, Twiggy," he taunted, his eyes flickering down towards her lips, "In exchange for a kiss," he wiggled his eyebrows suggestively, a mischevious grin plastered on his face, fully expecting her to dissolve into a puddle of blush and nerves.

What he wasn't expecting was for Elena to mutter an indecipherable curse in Spanish, and balancing on the tips of her black Mary Janes, angle her body close to his own. If he breathed, then his chest would brush against hers, and they were close enough he could look into her dark brown eyes and she could count each of the freckles on his face. She reached her arms around his neck, pulling herself even closer to him than he thought possible. Fabian was flooded by her scent, warm vanilla and spicy notes of something so _Elena_ he could barely breathe. He was closing his eyes when she was gone just as quickly as she had pressed herself against him, her wand in her hand and cheeks barely flushed as she concentrated on fixing the potion.

Fabian was sure he looked like an idiot, his copper hair mussed and what was sure to be a glazed look in his eyes. Meanwhile, Elena was practically indifferent to whatever had just happened. _Bloody hell._

Shaking his head, Fabian ran a hand through his hair and grinned wickedly at how well his junior prankster was quickly learning the art of getting out of trouble. Who knew Potions tutoring could be so fun? Sliding off the wooden table, Fabian sidled next to Elena and guided her movements as she waved her wand over the now simmering cauldron. He would have to tell Gideon later that it was time to initiate Twiggy into all the silent secrets Hogwarts had to offer.

Fabian's smile widened when Elena yelped after he pinched her side, guffawing goodnaturedly as she spent the rest of that Tuesday session grumbling about "ginger lob headed prats."

Oh yes, this would be fun.

* * *

 **Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! Please make sure to leave a review and let me know what you think! Updates will come more quickly now that I'm speeding through her third and fourth year... Rest assured that most of the plot picks up in fifth year, now that romance and those sorts of things feel more appropriate. If you have any ideas or suggestions for things that you'd like to see in future chapters, you are more than welcome to PM me. I hope you guys like Elena, she's one of my favorite characters I've created and I hope I can do her and this story justice.**

 **All of this is kind of an excuse to get you to press that little button down there. So, please? Review! Thanks :)**

 **Vera**


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